Delphi to sell interiors business that includes Ohio plant

Associated Press Published: February 25, 2007 3:04 AM

TROY, Mich. (AP) -- Auto parts supplier Delphi Corp. said it has signed a nonbinding agreement to sell its interiors and closures business, including a plant in Columbus, Ohio, to a private holding company owned by billionaire Ira Rennert.

The sale to New York-based The Renco Group Inc. is subject to bankruptcy court approval. Terms of the deal were to remain confidential until a master sale and purchase agreement has been negotiated, signed and filed with the court.

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The interiors and closures business, which Troy-based Delphi says has annual revenue of about $1.3 billion, includes products such as instrument panels, consoles, door modules and latch systems.

The plant in Columbus makes door latches and employs about 400 people, down from 2,000 in the early 1990s, said Brad Jackson, a Delphi spokesman. Hundreds of workers accepted retirement or buyouts, and many were replaced with lower-paid employees.

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Delphi, a former subsidiary of General Motors Corp., has been operating under bankruptcy protection since October 2005. It expects to emerge from bankruptcy protection in the first half of this year.

Delphi has said it plans to close or sell 21 of its 29 U.S. plants -- including six of its 10 plants in Ohio -- and focus on operating eight U.S. plants that make electronics, safety systems, heating and air conditioning systems and some mechanical parts. The plants scheduled for sale or closure make steering systems, brakes, dashboards and other parts that Delphi no longer considers part of its core business.

Delphi has about 8,000 hourly workers in Ohio, and several thousand jobs have been eliminated in the state as part of its restructuring.